Government has revealed that it has paid 70% of long-overdue on-call and standby allowances for healthcare workers, with the remaining payments expected to be completed by Wednesday.
The update was provided yesterday by Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Khanya Mabuza after healthcare workers had earlier informed the ministry that they would only resume on-call and standby duties once all eligible employees had received their outstanding allowances.
The workers had set June 30 as the deadline for payment.
Mabuza acknowledged the delays, adding that the ministry was working around the clock to ensure all outstanding payments were processed as quickly as possible.
“We have now paid 70% of the workers and are working around the clock to have the payments finalised by Wednesday. We are doing everything possible to complete the process as soon as we can,” said Mabuza.
Despite the ongoing payment process, some healthcare workers at Mbabane Government Hospital were still not on on-call and standby duties yesterday. However, hospital services continued without major disruptions.
A nurse, who preferred anonymity, said senior staff members had stepped in to ensure patients continued receiving care.
“Operations are normal and there are no major difficulties. The senior staff has reported for duty to cover those who decided not to report. I can confirm that some workers have not reported for on-call and standby duties,” said the nurse.
Healthcare workers had earlier communicated their position in a letter addressed to Mabuza.
The letter, written by Dr Zabenguni Mkhatshwa on behalf of the workers, was a response to a ministry circular informing employees that payment of allowances for the October to March cycle would be delayed.
On June 19, the ministry, through Under Secretary Anthony Masilela, informed workers that the delay was caused by a shortage of accounting staff required to process the payments.
The ministry assured employees that an expedited payment process had begun and appealed for patience while the exercise was being completed.
Asked whether workers had started receiving their allowances, Mkhatshwa confirmed that payments began on Friday, although not everyone had been paid.
“Since Friday, some healthcare workers have started receiving their payments. However, not everyone has been paid and we have not yet returned to on-call and standby duties because we agreed that we would only resume once all workers have received their outstanding allowances,” she said.
The ministry remains optimistic that all outstanding payments will be completed by Wednesday.
